Bill Pritchard

The dry, deadpan voice and introspective storytelling of Bill Pritchard have drawn comparisons to Morrissey and Lloyd Cole. Although he was born in Lichfield, England, Pritchard is more well-known outside of his homeland; Pritchard has amassed cult followings in Japan, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and France, where he eventually relocated. Pritchard's first two LPs, Bill Pritchard and Half a Million, triggered interest at Play It Again Sam Records. The label released Parce Que in 1988, a collaborative concept album with Taxi Girl vocalist Daniel Darc. The next year the label released Pritchard's third proper solo album, Three Months, Three Weeks, & Two Days. The LP was a flop in England, but it sold well in other European countries. The album was also a minor hit on college radio in America; the video for the single "Tommy and Co." was even featured on MTV's 120 Minutes program.

In 1991, Ian Broudie of Care and the Lightning Seeds produced Pritchard's album Jolie. The popularity of Jolie in Japan and Canada piqued the interest of Polygram/Island Records, which signed Pritchard to a contract. However, problems with the label stalled his career. Pritchard formed the band Beatitude with guitarist Tim Bradshaw, bassist Tuppy Rutter, and drummer Paul Barlow, recording one single, "Baby in Brylcreem." In 1998, Pritchard released Happiness and Other Crimes before disappearing for a while, only to resurface with the unexpectedly electronic album By Paris by Taxi by Accident in 2005. Though released internationally on major label Universal, the album wouldn't signify a return for Pritchard as much as a mysterious blip on the radar, as he disappeared from public view again shortly after its release.

It would be almost a decade until he released music again, this time spurred on by a reconnection with longtime collaborator Tim Bradshaw, who happened to move into Pritchard's neighborhood sometime around 2012. The closer geographic proximity of the two friends allowed them to work in at a low-stress pace on what would become A Trip to the Coast, an album of straightforward jangly pop tunes that was released on Tapete Records in 2014. ~ Michael Sutton & Fred Thomas, Rovi